Disconnects vs resigning - what's the point?

There are quite a few threads about resignation etiquette here, but I haven't yet found a reasonable answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything:

What on earth is the point in just disconnecting, or stalling, vs resigning when the game is over?

I have a beer fridge in my office, and plenty of other things to work on. I once finished making a picture frame - triple compound miters are a b*tch - while waiting on a 10 minute game to time out.

My question is: WHY do people do this? Assuming they don't care that it's severely rude - time is the only resource we can't reclaim - what is the point? It's not like they lose fewer points that way.

If I get down to a completely indefensible position, I'll resign to save us both time so that we can get onto another game, or analysis. If I think I can get a draw, I keep playing until it happens or becomes clear that it's not going to. I NEVER "suffer intermittent Internet connectivity" or just walk away and leave the other person stewing. (Well, almost never: if the other player is being incredibly abusive in chat, I might just let them stew a bit.)

Thoughts?

So, pretty much what I suspected.

It's pretty annoying. I find myself saying "Seriously!?" out loud, a lot. I'm not the world's greatest player. Just here to de-stress and have some fun. But, it's just a game. I don't understand why everyone takes it seriously enough to completely ignore common courtesy in a way that most would never do in person.

Open doors. Pull out chairs. Pay for dinner. Don't resign / disconnect when someone has given you the gift of their time to play a game.

Seems the basics are relatively straightforward. :/

Oh yes, that's a good one. A lot of hilarity can ensue if you get the timing just right.

Yeah - that one took some practice to get right.

absolutely preposterous

Some people just enjoy being disrespectful. My guess is that they're probably doing similar things on a regular basis in life, with "friends", coworkers, teachers......you name it. 

Some kind of mental issues probably.

You pissed them off by beating them, so they piss you off by wasting your time.  

Very childish.

I like that idea: "Keep thinking! I have to go pick up the kids."

Actually, that's kind of rude, as well. But, it's fun to think about.

"Being disrespectful" = "mental issues"... smh.

... I'll assume the "mental issues" comment was meant as an off-hand, slightly-sarcastic remark, rather than getting offended. You might be surprised at the number of chess players that have autism, suffer from bipolar disorder, etc.

Again, not a huge deal - but, still.

This is an unfortunate issue with online chess. There are all sorts of trash talkers and people who let the timer run out on a lost game. Some people are just sad, sore losers and will do anything to get back at you some other way, when they can't beat you on the game. Forcing you to wait until their timer runs out is their idea of clever revenge. It works in a way that it's annoying, but people who do that probably aren't very successful in life.

Polite players resign, but sometimes people seem to disconnect because they are frustrated and thankfully the game times out in 60 seconds.  The ones who just sit and let it time out are reminders that not all people are good (sorry socialists).  Some sneaky folks will sit a long while then start to play again hoping you have lost interest and they can time you out while you go for a beer.  Take care to listen for their move on your screen.

Sure, but it's in the spirit of the game (and good sportsmanship) to either complete the game, or resign. If you're still playing, I'm happy to let you run out the clock if you're actually *playing* (or, at least trying to solve the problem).

Resigning, when you're winning, because the other player has decided to just sit silently, isn't good sportsmanship. It's acting on your frustration, which rarely ends well.

Socialists don't believe all people are good.  What a stupid ass thing to say.